Essay: Life in Panorama

Listening to The Human Zoo (not the best title for creationists I know – chortle!), on BBC Radio 4, I realised that as well as willpower, our context is an equally important factor in making life changes.

So important that scientists worth their salt now consider it when conducting a research. So important that town planners now use it to nudge changes to lifestyle choices like obesity, cigarette smoking and even investment from businesses.

Our context include variables like our; current situation or circumstances, friends and colleagues, environment… Our context affects our disposition, therefore it should be added to the mix along with willpower and positive affirmations when considering life changes. Little wonder why Paul made this his closing remark to friends in Philippi millennia ago;

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – If anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

Perhaps before we go charging up our willpower and rehearsing those positive affirmations, we simply need to make little tweaks to our current context?